iPad 2 resolution vs. iPhone 4

I stood in line for about 8 hours yesterday to score an iPad 2 in Bellevue, WA. I've never stood in line for a product launch before, so it was a pretty neat experience. Met some nice people as well.

I don't own the iPad 1, so this is my first experience with a tablet. Anyhow, after playing with my new toy for several hours, I love it. Very fast, very elegant, and overall just a cool product. However, I have to say after spending a year with an iPhone 4, I find it a bit disappointing to look at the screen of the iPad.

By far the most impressive feature of the iPhone is the retina display. It's absolutely the most brilliant thing to look at. It's like looking at printed paper, it's so sharp and easy to read even with extremely small text.

I look at the iPad screen, and it just doesn't feel as natural to look at. I actually find myself having to zoom in on web pages more on the iPad then I do on the small screen of the iPhone.

This is really the only gripe (and it's a minor one) that I have with the iPad. I know it's by far still the best tablet on the market, and it is cutting edge technology, so it's not like there was a better choice out there for me. That being said, if they are ever able to make an iPad with a retina type resolution (I can imagine the amount of processor power this would require on a portable device would be quite an engineering feat), it would be breathtaking to look at and use.

Note that the resolutions are quite similar in terms of pixel count. The iPhone screen is smaller so the pixels are just harder to see. It is doubtful that the iPad truly requires more zooming. My guess it that it just feels that way.

But yeah, I agree that the pixel density of the iphone4 is desirable. It has made me lust for an iPad with a retina display.

I intend to do a LOT of reading on my new ipad 2. I toyed with purchasing an ipad 1 but i borrowed one from a buddy and was not impressed with the display for reading. In the meantime i acquired an iphone4 and agree with you wholeheartedly. The retina display is just outstanding. It's awesome for reading, just really, really small. So, i was obviously crossing my fingers for retina for ipad 2. But it was not to be.

So every time i pick this thing up i'm still not that thrilled (very satisfied with everything else on the device). I think being fortunate enough to have really good vision is part of it because i do easily notice the blurriness of small fonts and in the reading apps.

But for now it is what it is. i knew what i was getting into and I decided i didn't want to wait any longer and i'll just enjoy this model for this year and hope for retina for next year. When ipad goes retina it will be UNTOUCHABLE for reading. Books and newspapers will be just beautiful. I mean, we'll see what amazon and BN have by then, but i'll gladly pay much more for the versatility of the ipad.

So for me, next year will be about RETINA, RETINA, RETINA. I don't care about another speed bump, but i'm first in line if the display improves.

I stood in line for about 8 hours yesterday to score an iPad 2 in Bellevue, WA. I've never stood in line for a product launch before, so it was a pretty neat experience. Met some nice people as well.

I don't own the iPad 1, so this is my first experience with a tablet. Anyhow, after playing with my new toy for several hours, I love it. Very fast, very elegant, and overall just a cool product. However, I have to say after spending a year with an iPhone 4, I find it a bit disappointing to look at the screen of the iPad.

By far the most impressive feature of the iPhone is the retina display. It's absolutely the most brilliant thing to look at. It's like looking at printed paper, it's so sharp and easy to read even with extremely small text.

I look at the iPad screen, and it just doesn't feel as natural to look at. I actually find myself having to zoom in on web pages more on the iPad then I do on the small screen of the iPhone.

This is really the only gripe (and it's a minor one) that I have with the iPad. I know it's by far still the best tablet on the market, and it is cutting edge technology, so it's not like there was a better choice out there for me. That being said, if they are ever able to make an iPad with a retina type resolution (I can imagine the amount of processor power this would require on a portable device would be quite an engineering feat), it would be breathtaking to look at and use.

Does anyone feel the same as I do about this?

If you get enough people to agree with you, do you really think a retina screen will showup on a subsequent model of this explosive new technology called touch screen by iPAD? You also would likely want the price to drop, weigh the same as Kindle, and have battery life to be 30 days? Your grasp of technology development would seem to be just a bit lacking.

Just for a slight piece of reality as resolution increases, demands on processor and graphical performance increase substantially, costs climb, power demands climb, heat increases, ... get the point... this then prevents performance for apps, which is what iPAD is surprisingly good at. Software development is where the big inroads will show step by step improvements. iPAD2 hardware is flat out awesome. It isn't just the specs, it is the overall experience. So far iPAD has no competition in fit, feel and function... iPAD2 proves the point. This is like picking the perfect woman ... you take the whole package, or you get nothing. IMHO.

Just one more analogy. This is like living in Minnesota and not liking snow ... but if enough people agree with you, maybe Mother Nature will accommodate you and bring tropic weather to Minnesota during the Winter season... I doubt in my life time, anyway.

Madhatter: that was my point exactly...that I can dream of a retina display because it looks so much better on on iPhone but I understand that the technology is not yet there and as of right now it doesn't get any better than the iPad 2 which I'm perfectly happy with. Id also like a car with 500 hp and 100 MPG but we're not there yet either

But I have a feeling that many people might be disappointed. All of the crazy rumors drive up people's expectations and I see so many people on different forums all over the internet talking about a retina display on the iPad as if it were the most natural and obvious thing. Nobody has a display like that or anything even close to it. It would also require a very hefty graphics chip to run it. Even on desktops, it's common for some people to turn down the resolution in order to play games at an acceptable framerate.

Just look at how much Apple's 27" display costs. I have my doubts about an IPS retina display in the next iPad, though of course, I wouldn't mind or complain if I were proven wrong.